Texas School District Ditches Homework

Parents, Teachers Decry New Dallas-Area Pilot Program As Lax

(CBS)  Stephanie Lucero with CBS11 in Dallas/Forth Worth has the story of a pilot program for Texas middles schools that will include no home work for students.

What's the best way to educate our children? Should it be that if they cheat, they always get a second chance? What about late school work? Should students be allowed to turn it in at any time, no matter how late? One North Texas school district is considering some drastic changes like these.

According to several Plano Independent School District teachers, they have been informed that beginning next school year, homework will no longer be required for middle school students. And the grades for homework assignments that are assigned will not apply to students' report card grades.

Faculty members also told Lucero they think their students will suffer academically and the teachers will be held responsible. A lot of parents say they're unhappy with the plan as well.

There are other proposals on the table, such as reclassifying cheating as "academic dishonesty."

Here's the story and video:

[mlackey9393]

People of Texas should watch "Idiocracy" and ask how stupid and irresponsible they want their children to be.

[httpwwwnews]

"And we are teaching students to take a standardized test rather than teaching understanding of the subject matter."

Correct.

Kids are in elementary school in CA for about 6.5 hours a day. About 2.5 hours are spent on English Language Arts and 1.75 hours on Math. They get about 55 minutes for lunch & recess, around 30 minutes is spent lining up and transitioning. 20 minutes of mandatory PE. You do the math...what's left is for science, social science, and the arts. Science and Social Science are only tested in certain grades.

Teachers use released standardized test questions in English Language Arts and Math from prior years to prepare students, they use pacing guides that emphasize and dictate more time spent covering material that is most heavily tested, and students whose scores will impact the school's overall point gain are targeted for intervention.

Tell me again...teachers aren't teaching toward standardized tests? Talk to your congressman if you don't think it's right. Afterall, they expect 100% of kids to be proficient about 3 years from now, regardless if they speak English, if they are homeless, if they have no support at home, if they come to school hungry, if they have learning disabilities, etc.

[longhorn1234]

I graduated from Plano West last year. Even though I had a lot of homework, I feel that the workload prepared me for college. I am currently a freshman at UT and compared to a lot of other students there, I feel as though that I adapted much easier to the college environment due to my high school workload. A lot of the homework that we are assigned to do here does not count for a grade. However, if we don't do it our grades reflect it. Middle school and high school should be a time when kids develop good study habits. The homework given reinforces what is learned in the classroom. These kids aren't in college yet and if they don't learn the material now, then they will be extremely behind when in college. Cheating is also not tolerated at the college level. Sugar-coating cheating by calling it "academic dishonesty" is useless. There are no second chances in college. If you get caught cheating, you get kicked out. The lucky ones get 0's as grades, but it is very uncommon. Allowing kids to turn in projects whenever they please also does not teach time management or responsibility. Why should a student who turns a project in 3 weeks after the due date receive the same grade as the student who turned his/her project in on time? These new "policies" make no sense to me. I am glad that I graduated when I did.

[serpentbreeder]

is all of this scientifically proven? sounds like the students are being shortchanged again by the know it all teachers, the molders and shapers of the next gen. of leaders. in some aspects education is over rated how many mba's are without proper employment? i went to jr. college and make over 50k a year while flunking out in physics and being dropped to the next class to retake class. suer i'd like my kids to get straight a's but that's not reality, not all kids excel in school but rather might be more hands on in the form of excelling with thier hands more than thier brains. book work is just bookwork. the real world a little different than what the book says.

[teachersnottoblame]

The idea that people become teachers because they are driven by a desire to inspire a new generation of students is just another BS lie that has been sold to the people. A lie so insideous that the liars even believe it. The majority of people that go into eaching is to get secure and tenured positions with index linked pensions and benefits....and any person that does go into teaching to educate and inspire gets the Serpico treatment from their peers and unions.

Posted by spiritwalk


To say that there aren't teachers who get into teaching to inspire is ignorance. I happen to be a teacher and that is the exact reason that I wanted to teach. However, I can inspire all day long, but if there is no initiative taken by parents to encourage their kids to study and to care about academics then I become hand-cuffed. Another thing I would like to point out is that Texas has no teachers unions. There are professional organizations to join, but there are no unions in existence as in other states. The bottom line: teachers can HELP educate, motivate, and mold students, but WE CANNOT RAISE THEM!

[mdalerwill]

...If a parent is running down education at home that's a disadvantage to the child. If the teacher has given up on inspiring their students, another obstacle. If the child is living in an extremely dysfunctional environment , another obstacle.
Posted by mdalerwill.....

And what is the reason for all that? ...An educationsystem that does not teach the value of education, does not inspire students to learn and does not teach responsibilty.
Posted by spiritwalk at 2:58 AM : Mar 14, 2009

So...if the PARENTS did not graduate and are teaching their kids at home that they don't need an education either...the child's decision to ignore or even drop out of school is still 100% the fault of the educational system? Because it's not as though a parent has any influence on a child who looks up to them as their caregiver and primary role model. The stats indicate, unfortunately, that the people you would expect to tell their children how important school is...parents who are struggling in low-wage jobs because of lack of education...are in fact discouraging their children from applying themselves at school. That is not the fault of the teacher. It is the fault of the parent. And it is not the fault of the school if students are unable to concentrate because of the stresses of poverty or domestic abuse. There is no answer to be found in demonizing all teachers over one aspect of a complex problem.

[payasyougo]

"And we are teaching students to take a standardized test rather than teaching understanding of the subject matter."
----
I think you are wrong here.

I've seen clear evidence that kids graduating today definitely know how to work a calculator, make a power point presentation and use Google to answer the tough questions like "What is minimum wage?" or "What is an accident/injury lawyer?" or in the case of single moms in certain states: "How to collect child disability, welfare and other state benefits?"

[MaineTeacher]

I wasn't talking about standardized assessments, although those have become important motivators to make sure that we're making sure all students are understanding what they're being taught. (A major success of the Bush administration in my opinion). I'm referring to formative and summative assessments used in class daily to ensure that students understand concepts being presented. Some of these involve traditional pencil and paper quizzes and tests while others might involve whole group checks and self assessments of learning that give a far better picture then a homework assignment that a parents and friends end up helping with. I'm also a parent of a very active middle schooler who sometimes has practices or games that last until after 8 at night. When we're trying to get an hour or more of work done at that hour- it doesn't contribute greatly to learning. This has really made me consider the time I allow in class for kids to begin or even complete assignments. Just saying- some promising adjustments are being made in schools. Don't be too quick to disregard them as lax just because it's not how we went to school. Schools change more slowly then almost anyplace. You would still recognize a lot and not all of it is positive for kids.

[stupidrules3]

We're shifting grades more away from a percentage of completed assignments (homework papers) to assessment evidence that more accurately reflects learning.
Posted by MaineTeacher at 12:40 PM : Mar 14, 2009

And we are teaching students to take a standardized test rather than teaching understanding of the subject matter.

[stupidrules3]

Should they really be saddled with additional hours of busy work each night? We know it doesn't contribute that much to learning.
Posted by MaineTeacher at 12:40 PM : Mar 14, 2009

I should think that you, of all people, would understand that the "busy work" you refer to is not just to teach the mechanics of the subject. It is also a method of teaching work ethic and motivation. Kids need to be given responsibility and accountability in order to develop into productive adults. They are going to grow up and go into a work force that works at least 8 hours a day and quite often more.
I also wonder if you think that the one hour you get with these kids each day is enough to communicate the subject matter to all the students, especially the ones who struggle with it.

[stupidrules3]

There are other proposals on the table, such as reclassifying cheating as "academic dishonesty."

Sure, let's just give it a new, unoffensive name so we can make it okay. Let's also call plagiarism borrowing ideas and remove the negative stigma attached to it. Let us morally equivocate the whole world so the kids will be able to grow up and flourish in the corporate world where professional ethics no longer means anything.
As for doing away with homework, it IS important that our kids have more free time to play video games, don't you think? In these times, when our children are not allowed to fail at anything, we are creating a large crop of marshmallows who will cave in at the first signs of adversity. We need to teach our kids that sometimes you have to dig down and find it in yourself to overcome obstacles instead of just removing all of them from their path. Way to go Plano, you've just set back a whole generation of students.

[MaineTeacher]

This story is misleading. Lots of schools (especially middle schools) are reconsidering grading policies, homework, and how we deal with cheating. Just because we've come to accept doing things a certain way doesn't mean it's fair or makes sense, or that another way is somehow less rigorous. We've got kids for at least six hours a day. Should they really be saddled with additional hours of busy work each night? We know it doesn't contribute that much to learning. No one is saying a special project or catch up work won't take more time though. We're shifting grades more away from a percentage of completed assignments (homework papers) to assessment evidence that more accurately reflects learning.

[spiritwalk]

My children's schools must try to teach English and subject content to Spanish-speaking kids whose Spanish is extremely limited because the parents are illiterate even in Spanish!
Posted by Meg003
......................................................
When Lyndon Johnson graduated from college the only job he could get was as a school teacher in a small town on the Texas border where he taught the kind of Spanish kids you are talking about.
Johnson would say of that time that nobdoy could see that kind of poverty and lack of basic education and not be changed. For his entire political career he fought for equality in education, which during his lifetime would have been for the parents of the children that you mention. Unfortunately he was constantly blocked by the anglo-centric racism that excluded those students. He never truly succeeded.
From your comment it is obvious that anglo-centric racism is still fighting to keep them from having an equal chance at education.
By the way, what language did your ancestors speak when they came to the US? Hopefully English, because if they didn't they would not have gotten an education either.
To bad because then they would have ben educated enough to see that the native born education policy that you decry in Korea is also the same policy you advocate against Spanish speaking students and their eually education deprived parents that you wish to see here.

[J_G_H]

Unfortunately, Texas does not have an encouraging record of support for quality education. Examples, tthe Texas School Board text book selections have had an impact nationwide of dumbing down science texts (anti-evolution). Several decades ago Ross Perot ran into a lot of oppostion for requiring school athletes to meet minimum standards to play. Granted that homework may have become excessive, but the solution is to get teachers to coordinate their assignments so that they are reasonably spaced.

[Meg003]

The fact that...it aint rocket science...is still part of the lexicon in the 21st century is undeniable proof that the system has failed and the fact that a teacher is still using it is undeniable proof that the failure falls on them.
Posted by spiritwalk

You do realize that even young children may now own miniature rocket systems purchased at retail stores? "Rocket science" is just an expression, much as we still say "thumbs up" which is a holdover from the Roman gladiator contests.

If you want to see the big problems with education, make a trued comparison with other countries that "outperform" our education system. South Korea allows only the brightest to even enter high school. The student population is almost totally native South Koreans with no language barriers.

My children's schools must try to teach English and subject content to Spanish-speaking kids whose Spanish is extremely limited because the parents are illiterate even in Spanish!

[valh1]

dragonwagon, check your comment, you need to go back to school (WHERE makes no sense). Of course, we have schools here and they are good ones. Imagine that? I do wish there was less homework in the schools, though. My children don't get to bed sometimes until 12 or 1 in the morning because of their homework load. This is not everyday but a couple of times a week. As far as the other things this middle school is trying, they sound absurd. Cheaters have to be punished and late work should be graded as such.

[renonv5]

Yes, this is brilliant. Bring these children up to have absolutely no accountability or responsibility. They should do very well when they get into the job market and are only there to collect the check. Please make sure you give them everything their llttle hearts desire so that they never do without. While you're at it, never ever assign any chores for them at home so that they get used to everyone else doing things for them. Ahhh, the future looks so bright!!!

[Slrman]

I had a high school teacher in the 1950's that gave no homework in either his English or Spanish classes. What he did do is give surprise "pop" tests. The were short, about ten questions and covered only the material given in the classroom. If you wanted to review or study the material on your own, that was your privilege but it was not required. The pop tests did count on your grade, so it was a good lesson in the personal responsibility of paying attention in the classroom.

Did it work? Far better than you would think. I became and remain good with English and passable in Spanish, even though I have had little occasion to use that.

On the other hand, cheating is cheating, no matter if it is not "politically correct" to call it that. Mostly, "politically correct" means testifying to a lie or denying the truth.

[spiritwalk]

The responsibility of a teacher is to educate in his or her subject matter. They may set expectations and this creats accountability. It is not their job to teach responsibility, accountability or morality. These can be demostrated by example, but their prmiary responsibility is their curriculum and subject matter.
Posted by irishwench-2009
...........................................................
Considering the failure of graduates to meet even minimal levels of comprehension and reading and math skills it is quite obvious that teachers are not meeting their responsibility. (Perhaps not their fault as their teachers didnt teach them responsibility)

I think the most telling thing about the teachers of today was refelected by the comment here of the teacher who said....it aint rocket science.

It aint rocket science...was a cute saying... 50 or 60 years ago. The fact that people in the 21st century are baffled by rocket science shows the failure of eduction.

A basic rocket is no more than a giant thermos botlle with frozen propellent that is liquified upon release and ignited. That is rocket science and that is not complicated and the fact that a teacher says it is shows the fundamental lack of eduction of not only the students but of the teachers themselves.

The state of education in this country is a joke. But how could it be anything else when you have science teachers teaching a model of the basic atom that was proven incorrect by quantum physics over 70 years ago


...If a parent is running down education at home that's a disadvantage to the child. If the teacher has given up on inspiring their students, another obstacle. If the child is living in an extremely dysfunctional environment , another obstacle.
Posted by mdalerwill.....

And what is the reason for all that? ...An educationsystem that does not teach the value of education, does not inspire students to learn and does not teach responsibilty.

Children can master the complexity of a video game scenario but not basic math skills. It would seem then that it is not the childs ability to be inspired that is lacking but the teachers ability to be inspired that is the obstacle.

The idea that people become teachers because they are driven by a desire to inspire a new generation of students is just another BS lie that has been sold to the people. A lie so insideous that the liars even believe it. The majority of people that go into eaching is to get secure and tenured positions with index linked pensions and benefits....and any person that does go into teaching to educate and inspire gets the Serpico treatment from their peers and unions.

The fact that...it aint rocket science...is still part of the lexicon in the 21st century is undeniable proof that the system has failed and the fact that a teacher is still using it is undeniable proof that the failure falls on them.

[fabrat1]

I agree with the no homework but as for the rest of it....ummm I just don't think that's a good idea. My daughter is a Jr in high school and she's an honor student who's already taking college courses. I can tell you that she doesn't learn as much from her homework as she does from being in class. However, of course she studies every night for whatever class she needs to. She wants to learn all she can but I know others aren't like that. I have 2 sons and I can tell you they only do their homework because it's required. No, they don't pay enough attention to it to learn a thing. All children are different so I think it's up to the child to determine their own success and not whether there's homework or not. Yes, I live close to the Dallas area but not in that district.